WordPress: Manual WP Cron Jobs

This is a brief guide on how to implement the wp-cron.php process without using the native WordPress Cron job settings, and to instead use the control panel to initiate the process.

Before we dive in, I think that it is important to understand why this would be a good idea to implement and how it can help the system as a whole operate more smoothly.

The wp-cron.php is a file that essentially processes a catalog of automated tasks like publishing scheduled posts, checking for updates, sending notifications per code specific triggers, etc…
The WordPress environment is configured to process this based on when their site receives a visitor. While for the most part, this default setting is nothing to worry about, in higher traffic sites the wp-cron.php processes can become overbearing for any server environment, whether Shared or VPS.
To fix issues with resource abuse that can be identified to the wp-cron.php file (you can generally locate this in the access logs) you will first need to instruct the WordPress application that it shouldn’t process the wp-cron per its default configuration.

To do this you will need to navigate to the WordPress site’s root directory and locate the wp-config.php file:

Open the wp-config.php file
Go to the bottom of the database settings section and add the following:

define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);
Finally, click “Save” to implement the definition.

You will need to implement a cron job to initiate the scripts in the wp-cron.php. Generally having the wp-cron.php script run once every 6 hours is acceptable, but you can make further adjustments as needed.

Manual WP Cron Jobs In cPanel

For the cPanel environment, please follow these steps:

2. Locate and Select the “Cron Jobs” button under the Advanced category.

3. Now in the “Hour” drop-down menu, select Every Sixth hour

4. Next, you will need to add the following code to initiate the wp-cron.php file. Note: You will need to replace ‘domain.com’ with your domain.

wget -q -O - http://domain.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1

5. Finally, click “Add New Cron Job” and you are done.

Manual WP Cron Jobs In WCP

For WCP follow these steps:

2. Locate and Select the “Cron Jobs” button under the “reporting and applications” category for
Windows Shared products but under the “ColdFusion” category for ColdFusion Shared products.

3. Next select “Add” and then name the Cron Job: “wp-cron” would generally be sufficient.

4. Now include the URL to the cron file, which should look something like this:

http://domain.com/wp-cron.php

5. Next, select the “Advanced” radial and input the following in the “Expert” field

0 */6 * * *

6. Finally, click “Save” to implement the cron to initiate the wp-cron.php script every 6 hours.

Note: One thing to remember is to always ensure that your file path is accurate to the specific WordPress application. Very often web administrators will install their WordPress in a subdirectory. Before the work is considered “complete” make sure that the file path is accurate.